March 29 2011

8:08 PM

Here’s a look at some numbers on this week’s Shell
Houston Open at Redstone:

-- Twenty-one times the Shell Houston Open has been decided in a
playoff, dating back to 1946. That’s more than any event on
the PGA TOUR except for the U.S. Open (32). Last year, Anthony Kim
defeated Vaughn Taylor on the third extra hole, ending
Taylor’s chances for qualifying for the Masters.

-- The 488-yard par-4 18
th hole at Redstone Golf Club’s Tournament Course
ranked as the 20
th-most difficult hole on the TOUR in 2010 with the
field averaging 4.317. In the five years the event has been
contested on the Tournament Course, only one champion (Johnson
Wagner/2007) has played the 18
th hole under par for the week.

-- Steve Marino, who finished second at the Arnold Palmer
Invitational presented by MasterCard,is 12
th in the current FedExCup standings -- the highest
among those players without a win on TOUR in 2011.

-- Transitions winner Gary Woodland will play in the Shell
Houston Open Wednesday Pro-Am with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic
from ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike show as part of a Shell
initiative to support the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Shell
has auctioned off two Wednesday Pro-Am spots with the winners (Lew
and Pauline Peters of Lowell, Mass.) playing with Greenberg, Golic
and Woodland. The auction was held on March 9 and raised $43,750
($18,750 from the auction and $25,000 donated from Shell). In three
years, this program has contributed $139,750 to the V Foundation
for Cancer Research. Mike & Mike will broadcast their show
Wednesday morning live from the Shell Houston Open prior to playing
in the pro-am.

-- Jose Maria Olazabal, who has been battling a re-occurrence of
rheumatoid arthritis, will be making his first start of the year on
TOUR in Houston. The 2012 European Ryder Cup Captain will play with
2012 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III and 2011 Bob Hope
Classic champion Jhonattan Vegas in the first two rounds.